You probably already knew that:

Belgium is a founding member of the European Union, along with Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

It has been independent since 1830 when it was created as a constitutional monarchy, with three official languages: Dutch, French and German.

It has a population of 10.8 million which accounts for approximately 2% of the population of the EU.

It has a coast and also shares borders with the Netherlands, Germany, France and Luxembourg. It has a total area of more than 30,500 square kilometres.

It hosts numerous international organisations such as the European Union Institutions and the NATO headquarters.

But did you know that:

Belgium has the highest proportion of female ministers in the world and it was one of the earliest countries to have a female Parliamentarian, way back in 1921.

The only man-made structure visible from the moon is the Belgian motorway system, which is visible as a small glittering spot due to the lights all along the motorway network.

Belgian Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone in the 1840s. In the 1860s chemist Ernest Solvay and engineer Zenobe Gramme gave their names to the Solvay process and the Gramme dynamo, respectively. Bakelite was developed in 1907–1909 by Leo Baekeland. Guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt was the pioneer of European Jazz in the 1930s.

Belgium produces 220,000 tonnes of chocolate every year. When calculated, consumption comes to 22 kg of chocolate annually per person, or 61 grams per day on average. The world's largest chocolate selling point is Brussels National Airport.

Belgium produces more than 1,000 different beer brands.